What's old is new

After years of hard work, Liberty High School teacher and her students celebrate renovations to historic Illick's Mill

October 19, 2009|By Brian Callaway Of The Morning Call

Rats, voles and other creepy-crawlies scattered the first time she walked into the decrepit mill all those years ago, leaving behind enough abandoned junk and animal droppings to stifle anyone ambitious enough to dream of restoring the place.

English teacher Karen Dolan kept dreaming anyway, though, eventually enlisting a small army of Liberty High School students to transform the old Bethlehem mill.

In some ways, those dreams officially became reality Sunday evening as many of those students and Bethlehem area leaders gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the renovated Illick's Mill, another milestone for an award-winning school project that's produced a new environmental showcase along the Monocacy Creek.

"So often we give up on projects because we focus on what can't be done, what will be too difficult, too expensive, too time-consuming," Dolan said. "But young people are so idealistic that they don't have those doubts. They believe they can do anything."

Since the project started in 2001, 225 students have participated, getting the building added to the National Registry of Historic Places, applying for grants and helping carry out $1.2 million worth of renovations at the 153-year-old mill.

The mill was granted its certificate of occupancy earlier this year, and on Sunday was site of a gala to raise money for further work and commemorate its grand opening.

"It's the greatest thing I've ever done," said Evan Klokis, a 17-year-old Liberty senior who's in his second year in the Illick's Mill class.

Klokis has helped lead the project's corporate development team, working with companies that have helped push along renovations.

Before he took the class, he said, he was thinking of becoming a doctor. He now plans on majoring in accounting, have developed his business acumen in class.

Krissy Pieller, an 18-year-old senior who works as the project's executive secretary, said she was drawn to the project in part by her enthusiasm for the environment.

She said the class has taught her about plenty of other things, too.

"I've learned a lot about how to run a business," she said, as well as about how to pull together a group of people who sometimes hold conflicting views.

With the bulk of the renovations out of the way, students will now continue their work to set the mill up as an environmental education center.

By the end of this school year, they should have a lab set up in the basement for various scientific work, and there will be a classroom upstairs for lessons.

Dolan said students can draw water from the neighboring Monocacy Creek to run tests, for instance, or identify the invasive species of plant life that have taken root on the property and replace them with native plants.

Students at Sunday's gala were also quick to point out some of the more eco-friendly features about the renovated building, including the radiant heat, which requires less power than conventional heating systems, and energy-efficient lighting.

While classwork at the mill has drawn plaudits from various groups, it hasn't been without controversy. Last month, union officials filed a grievance on Dolan's behalf after she was told by the district she'd have to teach her students a more traditional course. She said the matter has since been settled. Her curriculum for the course hadn't been updated since 2001, she explained, and was no longer in compliance with new standards. Dolan, who's also a city councilwoman, has since made what she describes as minor changes to the curriculum, which she said have ended the conflict.

Now, she said, she's looking forward to helping students make the transition from renovating the mill to running it as an environmental education center.